Whoever you are, whatever you do, if you can build healthy professional relationships, you will stand out as an impressive member of your organization. You may be newly qualified and in your first job, have recently started a new job in a more senior position or be well on your way up the ladder in your career progression. Whatever your situation, you will find things work more easily if you can get along with other people. To do this, it helps to know a little about what type of person you are. If you hold a supervisory or management position you will need to be in control, not only of yourself, but also able to manage your staff and deal with a number of other stakeholders. Being an effective networker isn't something that happens by accident. This chapter deals with some of the points you should consider about yourself, before moving on to building relationships with others in the workplace.

This chapter presents ways on how one can turn effective networking skills and previously collected names of potential contacts into valuable business connections. Decide from those you've recently met, or those ahead in your database, with whom you want to build connections. Then you'll need to work out how to do it. Starting simply is always the best. Focus on success and the business development you will achieve. If you are going to be maintaining a database on which you will rely heavily, you must ensure it is in a healthy state. Now is an ideal opportunity to create some space. Remove any contacts who are out of date or incorrect. Add potentially new and exciting contacts to a database full of inaccuracies, and they will get swamped by the old material and will sink without trace within a short space of tune.

Building successful relationships at work is a challenge. New challenge could take you a step (or two) up the career ladder. Things can be taken at a steady pace, and adjustments made where necessary. This book presents ways to help you feel able to deal with each step as you go forward. Decision to work as hard at getting on with people as you have been at dealing with tasks will almost certainly involve added responsibilities and challenges. The cultures within these different organizations should be marked. Depending on where you are employed, the networking culture should be germane to the organization. Depending on your level of seniority, your training manager, or HR director, is the person to turn to for help and advice. Some organizations offer formal 'induction' programmes. One of the best ways to ensure you succeed in your goals is to have the right attitude. You may have some previous experience (good and bad), but by looking forward, trying to learn fast, you will be showing the right attitude.

Managing people is something that you may have to do, if you're not doing it already. If you are working on improving your interpersonal skills, you will become a better manager as a result. You may have originally been appointed because of a different set of skills scientific, technical or other. Should you be technically excellent at your job and have management capabilities, you will almost certainly be promoted. At some stage your original skills become to a large extent redundant, because what you are using most of the time now is management skills.

This chapter puts all that has previously been explained together. You are now confident when you meet new people. You're able to make connections and develop powerful relationships. These will be beneficial, not only to you personally but also for your organization. You will be reaping rewards through referrals for your company, your staff and for yourself. This encompasses all aspects of business relationships, how to get a response to your efforts. Because you have by now become more experienced in dealing with people and different situations within the workplace, you are far more confident when dealing with people who can affect your organization externally. When you are dealing with potentially valuable business connections, remember to switch to receive mode. If you had been transmitting, it's now time to stop. In this way favours can be returned. You'll feel enriched once you start creating new relationships that result in new business, and rewarding contacts. Don't forget that networking/relationship building is a reciprocal exercise what goes around, comes around. Referrals and recommendations will come to you frequently. Repeat business will be the norm.